After first being postponed indefinitely, while an online-only program was offered, GDC was moved to later in the year as “GDC Summer.” As it seems the state of California won’t be opening for that sort of business any time soon, it appeared inevitable that a change of plans for GDC Summer would be needed as well. Today, the adjustment was announced, with the originally scheduled August 4-6 event going digital

“It’s official. There will be no Fortnite World Cup competition in 2020, with Epic Games citing the usual list of COVID-19 health concerns and difficulties in organizing and running such an event while employees work from home.

“United Kingdom-based Jagex, the developers behind 2001 massively multiplayer online game RuneScape, was acquired Monday for $530 million by asset management company Macarthur Fortune Holding. Macarthur bought Jagex through one of its funds, Platinum Fortune LP, the company said Tuesday morning.

Jagex will maintain its team of roughly 400 and headquarters in Cambridge, U.K. while now operating as a subsidiary of Macarthur Fortune Holding, the company said in a statement. Jagex was founded in 1999, slightly before RuneScape launched in 2001.”

As major game industry events have dropped off the calendar for 2020, other influential entities in the games industry are creating online events in the spaces the live in-person events once occupied. Case in point:

“GameSpot has announced that it will hold a digital E3 alternative event this summer in partnership with major publishers to raise money for COVID-19 relief charity Direct Relief.

The event, called Play for All, will begin in early June and take place across several weeks of livestreamed programming on GameSpot, Giant Bomb, and Metacritic channels.”

A few of Ziggurat’s 3DO titles in their portfolio (image: Ziggurat Interactive)

Heads up, classic gamers! 3DO titles could be returning to circulation, now that Ziggurat Interactive has picked up a portfolio of 3DO titles:

“The company has nabbed the rights to over 30 retro console and PC titles directly from Prism Entertainment, properties originally owned by The 3DO Company. This gives Ziggurat the ability to publish games in this extensive library on digital storefronts like GOG and Steam.

This acquisition includes returning gems like horror-themed first-person shooter Killing Time, holy first-person shooter Requiem: Avenging Angel, first-person base-building hybrid Uprising: Join or Die and its sequel Uprising 2: Lead or Destroy. Also mentioned in the press release are Captain Quazar and Wages of War: The Business of Battle.”

Do you have interesting news to share, or something coming up that would also fit into this regular feature? Let us know!